Regulating Dairy Products - The Act

Act: Canadian Dairy Commission Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-15
Regulation: Dairy Products Marketing Regulations, SOR/94-466; EEC Aged Cheddar Cheese Export Regulations, SOR/91-84

To Whom Does This Apply?

Dairy industry.

Eligible Activities

Purchase, sale, disposal, processing, storage, distribution, marketing and import or export of dairy products.

Summary

Through the Canadian Dairy Commission Act, the Commission has a mandate to provide efficient producers with the opportunity of obtaining a fair return for their labour and investment and to provide Canadian consumers with a continuous and adequate supply of quality dairy products. The Commission collaborates on an ongoing basis with industry stakeholders to develop policies and programs for the benefit of the dairy sector.

The Commission is responsible for:

• administering, on the industry's behalf, the major elements of Canada's supply management system for the dairy sector;
• establishing support prices for butter and skim milk powder;
• estimating the national Market Sharing Quota for industrial milk and cream;
• operating the Surplus Removal and Domestic Seasonality Programs within the domestic market.

The Commission has the legislative authority:

• to purchase, sell, package, ship, insure, import or export, store, process or dispose of dairy products;
• to investigate matters relating to the production, processing or marketing of any dairy product;
• to help promote the use of dairy products;
• to establish and operate pools relating to the marketing of milk and cream.

The Dairy Products Marketing Regulations provide federal jurisdiction over the marketing of industrial milk and dairy products in interprovincial and export trade, and the necessary coordination between federal and provincial jurisdictions.

The fluid milk market is regulated by the provincial milk boards acting under the marketing plan under which they were created through provincial legislation and by similar federal authority.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is responsible for the establishment of dairy product standards, product grading, plant inspection, regulating packaging, nutritional labelling, animal health and the monitoring of the safety of dairy products.

Import controls on dairy products in the form of tariff rate quotas are administered by the Department of International Trade and by the Canada Border Services Agency.

The EEC (European Economic Community) Aged Cheddar Cheese Export Regulations provide for the allotment of export entitlements for the export of Canadian aged cheddar cheese to the EEC.

DISCLAIMER
Information contained in this section is of a general nature only and is not intended to constitute advice for any specific fact situation. For particular questions, the users are invited to contact their lawyer. For additional information, see contact(s) listed below.

New Brunswick Contact(s):
Dairy Farmers of New Brunswick
P.O. Box 5034
Sussex, New Brunswick  E4E 5L2
Telephone: 506-432-4330
Fax: 506-432-4333
E-mail: nbmilk@nbnet.nb.ca

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National Contact(s):
Communications Officer
Policy and Corporate Affairs
Canadian Dairy Commission
Building 55, NCC Driveway
Central Experimental Farm
960 Carling Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario  K1A 0Z2
Telephone: (613) 792-2049
Fax: 613-792-2009
Toll-free (information): 1-866-366-0676
TTY (hearing impaired): 613-792-2082
E-mail: cdc-ccl@agr.gc.ca
Web site: http://www.cdc-ccl.gc.ca/cdc/index_en.asp?caid=85